Chapter Text
All at once she is aware of the darkness; she feels as though it is all around her, and endless in its depth, but also as if she is somehow part of it. Yet the realization brings no urgency to escape -- she is numb even to her own thoughts.
Out of the black expanse comes a small, dim light that struggles desperately against the dark like a faraway star in the night. It flickers out, then returns with a surging force and flares up with an undeniable strength and brilliance. The light grows brighter and brighter, permeating through the darkness with the unfaltering power of a sun.
The light becomes a halo for the hazy figure of a woman, and though she tries to look upon her face she is illuminated too brightly to make out anything but long, golden strands of hair afloat around her. She is celestial. The woman's voice reaches her but it is muffled, and she cannot understand it. She calls out to her again and again, and her voice becomes clearer each time.
"Open your eyes. Wake up -- Zelda."
The moment she is able to understand the woman's voice she wakes, blinking away the darkness only to find herself within a dim, dusty room. The sound of liquid draining is loud in her ears and her wet skin feels a chill when the air finally hits it. At last the basin she is in empties, and she sits herself up, squinting in the blue light. She swings her legs over the edge and it's only when she feels the distinct smoothness of the stone against her that she realizes she is merely clad in dark navy undergarments. The fabric clings to her as she rises, managing to stand with a body that feels as uncertain as her memory.
There are little orange lights aglow on the walls of the room, and upon seeing them she is left with a sense of nostalgia that she can't quite place. The strange familiarity increases when she finds a small pedestal, softly glowing in a gentle shade of blue. It brightens ever so slightly when she nears it, the center piece rising to meet her; upon the pedestal lies a tablet that shines the same shades of blue and orange that light the room. Something within her beckons her to take it, and when she does the center piece returns to the rest of the pedestal, but she spends no more time on it as the rumbling of stone catches her attention.
Slates of stone rise upwards, noisily disappearing into the frame, revealing a path forwards and presumably out of the structure. She waits for the door to be completely open before making her way through it, a hand securely placed on her upper arm as if it would guard her mostly exposed body. She almost expects the door to fall violently behind her, but it doesn't, and it offers her some semblance of security. Her gaze falls on two chests amidst worn crates and broken barrels.
A bare knee finds its way to the floor, and her hand reaches out to the stone chest before her mind can stop it, as if she is driven by some measure of curiosity or perhaps a fragment of understanding. The stone of the chest is rough against her skin, but it does not deter her, and soon she manages to lift the top open. Green eyes peer in to find white fabric neatly folded within it, and upon removing the item from the chest she finds that it is shirt. It is a welcome discovery, and though her current garb is still slightly damp, she puts her arms through the long billowy sleeves and buttons it up all the way to the high collar. She is satisfied when she sees that the fabric is thick enough that her undergarment does not show through.
In the other remaining chest she finds a pair of brown pants, and when she puts them on she finds they are more form fitting than the shirt, but they are not too tight and they don't hinder her movement, so she happily wears them. She also finds a pair of lighter brown belts, and though she doesn't foresee herself needing more than one, she adjoins them both about her waist and hooks a little pouch that was also in the chest onto them; she secures the strange tablet on the belts near her hip. The last item she finds is a pair of short, dark brown boots, and she breathes a sigh of relief when they fit her. Her mind flitters to the thought that perhaps everything was left here for her, but with so little else in her mind to aid her, she moves past the notion and towards something more certain.
While she was dressing she noticed a pedestal that looked like the one from the previous room, and so she makes her way through the room to it. It glows a faint orange, unlike the last she encountered, and for a moment she isn't sure what to do. She unhooks the tablet from her belt and holds it near the pedestal in the hopes that it might be a way of controlling the device, but it does not respond. She keeps it in her hands and bends towards the pedestal to get a better look, and as she does so the slate barely touches the face of it. The contact is brief, but enough to transform the lights from orange to blue. An artificial voice reaches her pointed ears -- 「Authenticating... Sheikah Slate confirmed.」
She muses to herself that the tablet in her hands must be the "Sheikah Slate," but she affords it no more thought as the door begins to open and warm white light streams in from behind the stone slabs as they move ever upwards. The light is almost blinding after being in such a dimly lit place and out of instinct her eyes shut tightly, but the light brings with it fresh air and the sharp contrast forces her to realize how still and stuffy the air was inside the structure.
When her eyes adjust she makes her way up the stairs that lie before her, and through the pool of water just beyond them ( at that moment, she is very thankful to whoever left the boots behind ). Her path is abruptly blocked by a tall stone wall that is more than double her height; there is no other way through the hall, so she inspects the rock closely and finds a crack wide enough to use as a foothold. She almost cuts her hands on the rough stone as she uses all her strength to lift herself up and over the edge, but she manages it and raises her head towards the light.
A simple few steps is all that stands between her and the soft green grass that dances in the sun, and so she climbs the stairs swiftly and makes her way out. The light is warm and gentle on her skin, and the breeze that greets her lifts her golden hair playfully, pulling at the still wet strands that fall around her. Her hair is free and shining beneath the sun, and she smiles against the wind; if any were to look upon her in this moment, they would surely agree that she appears utterly and completely heavenly.
The sunlight pours down upon every piece of flora she can see -- the colors her eyes find out here are so much more vibrant than what she has seen since her awakening. She steps towards the farthest end of the cliff and takes in all that her vibrant green eyes can find. There are more trees than she can possibly count sprinkled across the landscape, and mountains towering in the distance -- she sees black smoke rising from a far off volcano and the pointed tips of a castle's exterior on the horizon. The world seems so wide, and it's a bit unnerving after being in such a small room, but it also fills her racing heart with an excitement that takes hold of her very soul.
Somewhere out there are the answers she seeks -- but also, there is adventure.